“I quieten their fears and give them sweet things to eat.”

A commenter in an earlier post about the Gross Orange Pervert’s HAPPY WOMEN REAGAN NIGHTMARE ABORTION BABY EXECUTION outburst wondered what sort of internal polling had set him off.

I think it is his response to something someone on his team said about a recent article: “Exploring Young Women’s Leftward Expansion” (The headline writer should have resisted the pun on westward and written something else, but what canya do?)

A surge in young women who identify as politically liberal in recent years goes beyond the label, extending particularly to their stances on the environment and abortion. It is also strongly echoed in their heightened unease with gun laws and race relations.

According to a new Gallup analysis, much higher proportions of 18- to 29-year-old women today than women of this age range about a decade ago hold the prevailing liberal perspectives on these four issues.

It’s easy to imagine that someone mentioned this article in his presence and he understood: Women. Unhappy. Abortion. So he tried to reassure the ladies. By shouting insultingly transparent lies at them until they are forced to agree with him. Or maybe he’s still upset about Harris kicking his ass up between his ears during the debate. Either way, bold move, etc.

From 2001 to 2016, women aged 18 to 29 were more likely than their male counterparts as well as older men and women to identify as politically liberal. However, as Gallup has reported previously, a recent jump in young women’s liberal identity, not matched by the other groups, has widened the gaps, particularly with young men.

The three periods used throughout this analysis to summarize Gallup’s trends capture successive increases in young women’s liberal identity since the start of the 21st century.

In the first period, from 2001-2007, an average of 28% of women aged 18-29 identified as liberal, three percentage points higher than young men. This period coincides with most of George W. Bush’s presidency, an era dominated by the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including the Iraq War.

In the second period, from 2008-2016, an average of 32% of young women identified as liberal, five points higher than for young men. This period coincides with the political era featuring Barack Obama — first as a Democratic candidate for president and then as president.

In the third, from 2017-2024, an average of 40% of young women identified as liberal, 15 points higher than for young men. This period coincides with the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, as well as a record increase in women — mostly Democratic — elected to Congress, governorships and state legislatures.

These three periods essentially show how the views of 18- to 29-year-olds have changed over the past two decades, with — in varying proportions in each period — Gen X, millennials and Gen Z mostly constituting the young adult subgroup.

According to this article, younger voters aren’t just having opinions, they’re also preparing to flex their franchise.

Voter registration is breaking records as Election Day approaches, particularly among young people, many of whom are first-time voters.

On Tuesday’s National Voter Registration Day more than 150,000 people registered through Vote.org, the most the organization has ever seen on that day. The organization registered 279,400 voters in all of last year.

[…]

A huge percentage of the newly registered voters are young people, many voting for the first time.

According to Vote.org, voters under 35 made up 81% of Tuesday’s registrations, with the biggest spike among 18-year-olds. On this year’s National Voter Registration Day, 11% of those registered were 18, which is 53% higher than on the same day four years ago.

I don’t have any recommendations to older people who have first time voters in their lives. As much as I clearly remember being annoyed by my elders when I was 18, I can’t say at least a little pestering would be a bad thing. Older relatives pounded the belief that it is my right and responsibility to vote into my head. And now, years later part of the reason I vote in every election is so I can say “Yes mom, I voted!” when she calls to see if I have voted. Of course she checks.